Aug 8, 2010

Keep your lips and your fingers ready for Don Seenu is full of those distinct Ravi Teja moments that deserve a long and deep whistles on and off. This one's a no-brainer, which at times is complete nonsense and even totally whacked out. But what it does firmly deliver is two hours of solid mirch masala and tummy-aching laughter. For more log on to http://www.upperstall.com/films/2010/don-seenu

Feb 28, 2010

In Upperstall.com on Feb 28, 2010E Maya Chesave (What Magic Have You Spun?) is a magical, feel-good love story so very apt in these busy times where love is all about sending a quick 1-4-3 sms on the phone to the loved one. E Maya Chesave ...http://www.upperstall.com/films/2010/e-maya-chesave

Feb 23, 2010

by Manju Latha Kalanidhi in http://www.upperstall.com/Leader is a good watch if you like to see a movie and come back with a thought lingering in your mind. A good movie, but not necessarily a hit movie

Feb 10, 2010

Published in JETWINGS INTERNATIONAL FEB 2009For the geologist, it is a mass of molten magma. For the real estate tycoon, it is the last boulder on the way to his next high-rise. But for the true Hyderabadi, the rock is part of his drawing room furniture. Alongside the couch and the beanbag sits a boulder with attitude. It is as much as citizen as him, with a name of its own. Obelisk, Toadstool, Cliff Rock and Bear’s Nose are not just rocks but landmarks as well. It is like him, ageing and roughening up life, but all the while standing tall - to narrate tales with twists. The jetsetter sights the first rock a few minutes before the aircraft swoops down the tarmac at the Hyderabad airport. Aah, the humongous boulders that stand tall, short, fat, tubby, flat, angled, skewed, precarious… Those who alight the train at Begumpet in Hyderabad can pay homage to the Ganesha rock bang in the premise of the railway station. Don’t be surprised to see a few stray coins, shards of coconut shells and few damp flowers right there as you smell incense. The Ganesha rock, a sign of things to come, receives a puja from the locals everyday. It is a rocky feast for those who vroom into the city via the NH-7 Mumbai National Highway. The 5-km stretch between Patancheru and Gachibowli is a rocky terrain dotted with rocks. One rock looks like a fat, sloth bear about to lie prone; one looks like a delectable hamburger looking for someone to fill it up with some lettuce; another looks like a intriguing Rubik’s cube waiting for the mystery to be cracked… … Like clouds, rocks allow free interpretations. If you missed the landscape of Hyderabad by touching the city in a midnight international flight, don’t be surprised to see a rock saying a ‘hello, there’ to you from the other side of the glass window from the CEO’s cabin on the fifth floor. The rocks of Hyderabad are like the unsung monuments of the city. The twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad are on the Deccan Plateau are replete with primordial granite ridges that are as old as 2,500 million years. Hyderabad alone boasts of at least 45 zones with rocks that stand tall amidst the built environment. About 15 rocks sites in the city have been declared as heritage precincts by the government, the rocks continue to be quarried, wrenched, hauled, hammered, chipped and powdered. The best way to go rock sighting in Hyderabad is to take a rock trail from Jubilee Hills to Kondapur and touch upon Gachibowli. Most of the rocks are pretty accessible from the city’s arterial roads and often take a short walk into the bushes. Interestingly, some of the best rocks are conveniently situated in the tourist spots such as Golconda Fort, Falaknuma Palace and Shilparamam crafts village and Hitech City. If the Tortoise back rock that houses the Mahakali temple in Golconda looks like the handiwork of the Goddess herself what with the rock appearing like the bobbing head of a hesitant tortoise, the Hamburger Rock near Telecom Nagar, Gachibowli, reminds you of the seven stones game we played as children. One hit and it would all come tumbling down. Mushroom Rock Formation in the campus of Central University of Hyderabad, Gachibowli, looks like nature’s own designer furniture that reminds us of the new age ergonomics. Rocks have spawned an array of addresses as well. Rockview Inn, Rock Castle, Hotel Rock On etc. Even as Hyderabad’s rocky assets frequently fall prey to the real estate developers, some of these have been lucky enough to be the chosen ones by the INTACH and earmarked as Heritage Precincts. The rock garden at Shilpakalavedika at Madhapur and the rock garden at Durgam Cheruvu are both weekend spots that have managed to stay intact. However, it is rocks like the Toadstool on Road No 35 of the Jubilee Hills, adjacent to Blue Cross, that rise abruptly amidst sprawling bungalows and gleaming four wheelers that actually take your breath away. Almost like silent sentinels, these rocks have seen the city grow from rubble to what it is today.True blue Hyderabadis, however, rarely visit these landmarks. They find their own little big rocky nooks in their zones. While those in East Hyderabad frequent the flat rocks that are as big as the Queen’s bed at Velugugutta adjacent to the International Cricket Stadium at Uppal to watch the city light up by twilight, those in Central Hyderabad near Marredpally would rather spend a few hours on a full moon night perched on the Addagutta, next to the Water Works office. Those in and around upmarket Banjara and Jubilee Hills are lucky enough to have a rock right in their backyard where the grandson probably slides through it during playtime. As hoardings about ‘gated communities” announce the attack of the rapid real estate tsars in the city, rock lovers of the city can foresee more and more boulders getting pulverized to gravel. As more gleaming towers come up, more sturdy rocks will have to become rubble. For the quarry, the next rock could just be another thing off its To-Do list for the day, but for the Hyderabadi, it is another slice of history turning into a mass of debris. Different rocks, sorry strokes for different folks!Must-visit rock sites in HyderabadHillocks around Durgam Cheruvu lake situated between Jubilee Hills and HitecityBear's Nose behind Cyber Tower, Hitech CityMushroom Rock at Central University of Hyderabad, GachibowliCliff Rock in Road No. 46, Jubilee HillsMonster Rock in Road No. 71, Jubilee HillsTortoise Rock in Nandi Hills Colony, near Durgam CheruvuToadstool in Road No. 35, Jubilee HillsObelisk in Road No. 66, Jubilee HillSkull Rock, HiTech City Phase IIHamburger Rock, near Telecom Nagar, GachibowliUnited-We-Stand Rock GachibowliPathar Dil Rock, GachibowliReach the nearest landmark (mentioned beside the name of the rock) and enquire locally. Most of the time, the rocks are visible from a distance.Interested in joining a movement for rocks? Call 040- 23552923 or visit www.saverocks.org-ends

Jan 20, 2010

NTR fans will love Adhurs. Those who do not, are adhur-wise. In short, if you love two hours of naach-gana, drama and hungama, Adhurs nicely fits the bill. If you are looking for sensible cinema that will intellectually edify your erudite soul and have you thinking, check out the others. Review on http://www.upperstall.com/films/2009/adurs

Jan 17, 2010

if you've missed Rab Ne Banadi Jodi's beginning and Jab We Met climax, Namo Venkatesa will be a good synthesis of the two. The only hitch: It is neither as heart-touching as the SRK-starrer nor as funny as Jab We Met.